Eighty-Three Percent
by Distant Glory
Summary: Drabble collection! Mostly Makisa, occasionally implied Rinharu, plenty of gen. Mostly fluff, occasional angst; most chapters stand alone. Expansions can be requested!
1. On the Outside

Free! is awesome. I have not written consistently in ages. Put these two facts together and you have this collection.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. I wish I owned Makoto, at least.

* * *

**On the Outside**

"Mako-chan?"

Makoto doesn't turn around.

How can he look at the smile on Haru's face - the smile Rin put there - and feel jealousy? How can he look at the way that Nagisa hangs off Rei's arm, chattering freely, and feel cold?

But he's so tired of being the third wheel, and he doesn't know how to explain. He doesn't _want_ to explain; he's disgusted with himself.

But Nagisa doesn't ask for explanations. He slides his arms under Makoto's, wraps them tightly around Makoto's middle. Presses his warm forehead between Makoto's shoulder blades.

"You still matter, Mako-chan," he says.


	2. The Way to Makoto's Heart

**The Way to Makoto's Heart**

Makoto balks when Nagisa tries to drag him into the alley, and the smaller boy pouts at him.

"Come _on_, Mako-chan," he whines. "You promised."

"I didn't know you wanted me to come back _here,_" protests Makoto. He eyes the alley nervously, thick with shadows at mid-afternoon.

Nagisa's pout increases. "Fi-ine," he says. "I'll go get her myself." He disappears into the darkness before Makoto can demand exaplanation.

His questions are answered when Nagisa emerges with a tiny ball of fur, which unrolls and looks at Makoto with brilliant blue eyes.

Makoto melts, and Nagisa looks smug.


	3. Dawn Brigade

**Dawn Brigade**

Makoto huddled deeper into his jumper, pulling the sleeves down over his hands. It was still dark outside, and the cold felt like needles.

"Are you okay, Nagisa?" he asked.

"I'm fine." Nagisa bounced, his borrowed jumper flapping like skirts. "Look!" He pointed out to the horizon, where streaks of light were beginning to appear. The black sky slowly lightened to blue, and Nagisa sighed happily. "Isn't it beautiful?" he said, looking back at Makoto.

Makoto looked at his friend. Nagisa's cheeks were flushed from cold and his eyes were bright with excitement.

The older boy smiled. "Yeah, it's beautiful."

* * *

_Note:_ At some point, I'd like to expand some of these drabbles into proper one-shots. So if you have a favourite, or something you'd like me to develop properly, be sure to drop me a line.


	4. Late

**Late**

Rin would have given him a hard time (if they were still friends).

Haru would just _look_ at him, somehow irritated without actually changing his face (and one day Nagisa was going to figure out how he did that).

Gou would glare at him (well, of course she would - she was Rin's sister).

Rei would give him a lecture on the importance of punctuality, and then list strategies to avoid lateness in future (Rei-chan always tried to be helpful).

But when Nagisa turned up late, panting from his sprint, Makoto only smiled and said, "I'm glad you made it."


	5. Surrogate Parents

**Surrogate Parents**

Haru had always been weird. But this? This was taking it to a whole new level.

_This_ was Nagisa and Makoto each holding one of his arms and exerting more force than should have been necessary in order to keep the other boy out of a decorative fountain. Nagisa would have thought it was funny, if this hadn't been the third time in a single morning. (And how did Haru-chan get out of his clothes so quickly, anyway?)

"We're not his _friends,_" panted Nagisa when Haru yielded to Makoto's desperate pleading and stopped struggling. "We're his _parents._"

Makoto choked.


	6. Consequences

**Consequences**

"Here." A broad palm held out two white pills. "Take these. They'll help."

Nagisa whimpered, but took them. When the hand presented a glass of water, he took that too. He managed to swallow the tablets, though he dribbled water all over his chest.

It felt _so good_ on his hot skin.

The hand removed the water before Nagisa could pour the rest of it over himself, and the blond whined a protest. Makoto put the glass on the bedside table, looking sympathetic but amused.

"Run a cool bath and soak," he advised. "Maybe next time, you'll remember your sunscreen."


	7. Encouragement

**Warning: **Spoilers for High Speed!

* * *

Nagisa didn't notice Makoto right away. First there was Rin, with his power; then there was Haru, with his grace. They were so cool!

He didn't notice Makoto until the day he decided to start running.

Nagisa was halfway across the bridge and watching Haru recede into the distance when a bicycle rode up beside him.

"Keep going!" called the boy on the bike, slowing until he could keep pace. "You can do it!"

The boy cheered him on all the way back to Nagisa's house, and Nagisa decided that he wanted to be friends with Makoto more than _anything._


	8. Terrible Trio

**Terrible Trio**

Makoto stretched out on his bedroom floor and stared at the ceiling, the wood under him cool and reassuringly solid.

He couldn't remember _ever_ being this tired.

His brother and sister, he could handle. Nagisa, he could handle. But his brother and sister plus Nagisa?

As though the thought had summoned them, three heads peeked around the doorway. Three pairs of wide eyes peered at him.

"I think we broke onii-chan," whispered Ren.

"No we didn't!" Brief pause. "Did we?"

"Mako-chan? Are you broken?"

Makoto groaned and closed his eyes. It was going to be a long afternoon.


	9. Illusions

**Illusions**

Nagisa had never felt so bad about beating someone.

Okay, it was just cards - just a way to pass the time - but when Nagisa played the hand that pushed Makoto out of the game, the older boy drooped like a wilting plant. He gazed mournfully at his cards, as though they had betrayed his trust.

Nagisa wondered whether it was possible to take his move back. Anything to take that look off Makoto's face - not angry, just accepting and dejected.

Haru stretched out one leg and kicked Makoto's thigh.

"Stop that," he said flatly. "Your sad dog look is cheating."


	10. Notice

**Notice**

"You're worrying about Haru-chan again."

Makoto blinked and looked up from his homework. "How did you know?"

Nagisa got up from his bed and leaned over his friend. "You get a little wrinkle just -" cool fingers touched Makoto's forehead, "there. If you don't stop thinking so much, Mako-chan, it might become permanent!"

It was such an absurd thing to say. No...it was so odd to be the one that someone else was concerned about. Makoto swallowed, mouth suddenly dry. "I don't know how to stop," he said.

Nagisa smiled. "Let me help," he said, and leaned in.


	11. Adjustment

**Adjustment**

Nagisa poked Makoto's side. "Mako-chaaaaaaaan," he whined. "Wake _up._"

Makoto's response was a sleepy murmur. Nagisa pouted. It was only half past nine! It was too early to sleep!

But somehow, he couldn't bring himself to try waking Makoto again. The older boy looked completely relaxed, which he never did when he was awake, and there was a sweet smile on his face, like he was having nice dreams.

Mako-chan was _cute_ when he was sleeping.

Nagisa abandoned his plans for the night, settled down beside his friend, and began to run his fingers through Makoto's short hair.


	12. Shelter

**Shelter**

The door opened, allowing the sound of driving rain into the hallway, and Nagisa dived for Makoto.

"It's freezing!" he complained, huddling against the older boy's side.

"What happened to your blazer?" asked Makoto, then yelped as Nagisa ducked underneath his. Nagisa's shirt was soaked from the rain - no wonder he was so cold!

"My sister spilled nail polish on it," said Nagisa, shivering. "And I couldn't find my coat before I had to leave." He turned into Makoto's chest. "At least Mako-chan is nice and warm..." he said, nuzzling closer.

Makoto felt a blush creeping up his face.


	13. Fashion Sense

**Fashion Sense**

Nagisa kicks his feet in the pool. Practice had been a complete disaster - again - but at least Rei-chan thought he had a solution to his swimming problem.

"So Rei borrowed that Speedo from you, huh?"

Nagisa turns. Makoto, already changed, is standing just behind him.

"Yeah...he didn't have one of his own. Why? What's wrong with it?" asks Nagisa, eyes narrowing.

Makoto hums thoughtfully. "I don't think there's anything _technically_ wrong with it, but..." His smile grows teasing. "Maybe Rei isn't the only one who needs a new swimsuit."

He only narrowly avoids being pulled into the pool.


	14. Learning Curve

**Learning Curve**

Rei is currently not speaking to Nagisa, and there's an angry stiffness to him that means the obsessive stretching might actually be useful today.

Makoto pulls Nagisa aside as they start practice.

"What happened?" he asks.

Nagisa looks upset, but also faintly annoyed. "Rei-chan is upset because I rode a spinning chair down the hallway during lunch and we nearly got caught."

Makoto sighs, because that isn't even in the top ten of rule-breaking things that Nagisa has been involved in. He pats his friend's shoulder.

"Rei will forgive you," he says.

What Makoto means is, _he'll learn._


	15. Model

**Model**

"Ah - Ran -"

His little sister looks up from her work. Nagisa smiles brightly. Makoto just hovers, not sure what to do. Ran has recently discovered cosmetics, and has been searching for a suitable test subject. It looks like she found one, but -

Her victim looks more like he just came out of a fight than anything else.

At least his hair - given a little extra curl and clipped neatly out of his face - looks good.

"It's okay, Mako-chan," says Nagisa. "My sister used to do this to me all the time."

Makoto doesn't know whether to laugh or cry.


	16. Peaceful

**Peaceful**

Haru is a cat magnet. Rei theorizes that it has something to do with the affinity for fish.

Whatever the reason, Haru - showing more patience than Makoto would have believed - is showing Gou where a silver tabby likes to be scratched. Rei is holding a staring contest with a ginger tom that perched on his leg and refused to be budged. Nagisa, lying on his stomach, dangles a ribbon for the white kitten. The tiny creature pounces and somersaults, and Nagisa's laughter flows over the scene.

Makoto settles back, careful not to disturb his lapful of purring calico, and smiles.


	17. Aftermath

**Aftermath**

"This is your fault."

"Stop _picking_ on me, Haru-chan," moaned Nagisa. "I didn't _mean_ to tell them."

"We would have had to tell them anyway," said Makoto, still defensively hunched.

"Not like that," insisted Haru.

"I was half-asleep! It was cheating!"

"It would only be cheating if they were doing it deliberately."

As Haru and Nagisa bickered, Makoto turned to Rei. "Are you alright?"

"I never knew they could be so scary..." muttered Rei.

The bickering fell silent. All four shuddered. That was one thing they could agree on: when angry, Gou-chan and Ama-sensei were _terrifying_.


	18. Dare

**Dare**

It was meant to be a peck on the cheek. Makoto knew he shouldn't have chosen 'dare', but he'd trusted Haru not to ask him to do anything _too_ humiliating.

But Nagisa had clearly had different ideas of what 'kiss Nagisa' should mean. And Makoto - well. He couldn't be blamed for going along with it, could he? He'd had a crush on Nagisa for some time now - not that anyone knew.

When he and Nagisa finally broke apart, panting, Haru's expression hadn't changed at all. "Good," he said. "Now you can stop worrying that he likes Rei more than you."


	19. Crazy

**Crazy**

Makoto winced as the three would-be bullies slunk off.

"It worked," Haru pointed out.

"Well, yes, but -"

Nagisa turned on his friend, eyes huge and betrayed. "You didn't have to agree with them, Rei-chan!"

Rei took a step backwards. "I did not. They were clearly implying that your manic tendencies were due to psychological problems, whereas I -"

The small crowd, which had been showing signs of dispersing, was reforming. Makoto sighed and covered his face with one hand. Someone was going to have to break this up, and it looked like it would have to be him.

Again.


	20. Splinters

**Splinters**

"Hand."

"Haru, it's fine -"

"_Hand._"

Makoto eyed Haru's implacable face and resigned himself to having the splinters removed - though not without a final, imploring look, which Haru ignored completely.

"You shouldn't go along with him all the time," said Haru, bending to his task.

Makoto remembered eyes shining with excitement and an exuberant grin, and familiar warmth spread through his chest. He swallowed.

"He's a friend," he said - then yelped as Haru yanked one of the splinters from his palm and gave him a censorious look.

Makoto couldn't tell whether it was for the sound he made, or his lie.


	21. Realization

**Realization**

Nagisa remembers his realization: remembers being ten and surfacing from his laps to find Makoto waiting for him.

"That was really good, Nagisa-kun." Makoto extended his hand, like he did for Haru. "Coming out?"

Nagisa beamed - "Sure!" - and took it.

Something electric bolted down his arm. Stunned, Nagisa let go - falling back into the pool with a splash and spluttering as he surfaced. _What was _that_?_

"Nagisa! Are you alright?"

Nagisa looked up. Makoto's eyes were wide and worried, and something warm fizzed in Nagisa's stomach.

_Oh._

"I'm fine," he said, and gave his biggest smile. "Help me out?"


	22. Beggar

Teaser for a planned fic set in the ending!AU. Street kid Nagisa and merchant's son Makoto.

* * *

**Beggar**

It's the food smells that are hardest to bear. Nagisa is so hungry that his stomach _hurts,_ and it's hard not to cry from it.

Even though he sniffs, a few tears still escape.

"Hello?"

He's wedged himself into a niche where adults can't reach him. But it's not an adult standing there; it's a boy, and he's holding out some bread.

It's probably a trick, but Nagisa is too hungry to care. He snatches it and waits for something awful to happen.

But the only thing that happens is that the boy smiles at him before he walks away.


	23. Protect

**Protect**

Makoto has a vice grip on Nagisa's shoulders as they enter the 'haunted' house. Nagisa pats the his forearm reassuringly.

"It's okay, Mako-chan," he says. "If there really was a ghost -"

Makoto whimpers.

"- I'd protect you."

The older boy _almost_ relaxes - then tenses up again. "You mix up salt and sugar."

Nagisa scowls. "Well, they look very similar!" Besides, that was only _one _time. He taste-tests his purification salt now.

Makoto just continues to cling. And really, Nagisa would be lying if he said he wasn't enjoying it. Watching Makoto trying to hide behind him was _so_ cute.


	24. A Different Approach

**A Different Approach**

Nagisa breezes past Makoto when the taller boy opens the door, shedding shoes and jacket in one complicated motion.

"I stopped by Haru-chan's," he says. "He's not in the bath; he's in the living room doing his homework. And I left him some rice. So -"

That's as far as he gets before Makoto, overwhelmed, kisses him.

Because it doesn't matter that the rice will mostly likely end up rotting in Haru's fridge, or that the bath will certainly see use before the afternoon is over. The point is that Nagisa tried to assuage Makoto's worries.

And that means everything.


	25. Cancer

Hello, yes, did someone call for some angst?

* * *

**Cancer**

Haru's last instruction, before he lets Nagisa go in, is, "Don't tell him."

Nagisa doesn't question how Haru knows. If anything, he's a little insulted by the implication - that he'd be so selfish as to confess to Mako-chan _now, _when...

His mind shies off the end of that sentence.

Mako-chan always liked to see him smile. So he'll smile.

He pushes the door open and beams his widest, like it doesn't hurt him to see Mako-chan hooked up to so many machines.

"Hey, Mako-chan," he says, and his voice doesn't even falter. "Did you miss me?"


	26. For Their Own Good

Totally the fault of Tumblr user bleeding-shortcake.

* * *

**For Their Own Good**

"I can't believe I let you talk me into this," mutters Nitori.

"Eh? Why? It's for their own good - you even said so!" Nagisa holds up his prize with a grin. "Besides, I already got Rin-chan's key."

Nitori stares at the object for a minute before he starts spluttering. "_How_ -"

"I got it when I hugged him earlier," says Nagisa. "Come on, let's hurry. We don't want to get caught!"

Bending, he unlocks Rin's desk, and opens it with a flourish. "Now, look for anything about Haru-chan, and then we'll start thinking about how to get them together..."


	27. Public Places

**Public Places**

Gou leaned against the wall and willed her hot cheeks to cool. _I didn't need to see that!_

"Kou-san? Did you find Nagisa-kun and Makoto-sempai?" asked Rei

"They're in the locker room, but -"

"I'll go get them."

"Wait!"

Too late. Gou cringed.

Rei emerged again a few moments later, his face bright red.

"...I think we should let them be," offered Gou.

"I agree."

As he passed her, Gou heard him mutter, "That is a _public_ place."

Gou sighed. Managers should _not_ have to lecture team members (and especially not _captains) _about appropriate places to make out.


	28. The Benefits of Hugs

**The Benefits of Hugs**

Haru is unenthusiastic about most things, but he's _particularly_ unenthusiastic about being the one that Nagisa pounces on to prove the benefits of hugs.

"Get off me."

Nagisa retreats and pouts. Rei, the opposing side, looks smug.

"Maybe Haru isn't the best test subject," offers Makoto, caught between amusement and pity.

The way that Nagisa's face lights up makes Makoto feel warm - but also wary. He's been involved in too many incidents where that face preceded getting them all into trouble.

In this case, all it precedes is him getting a lapful of nuzzling blond.

He can live with that.


	29. Meet the Family

**Meet the Family**

Makoto greets Nagisa's arrival with the kind of relief usually reserved for the final school bell, springing up from his seat and putting Nagisa between him and his predators.

Nagisa's sisters give their best innocent looks.

"Mako-chan, why don't you wait outside? I'll be out in a minute," Nagisa says, glaring accusingly at his demonic siblings. Makoto beats an unashamedly hasty retreat.

"You're no fun, Nagi-chan," chides Hamako.

"We weren't going to _eat_ him," says Yoshie.

"Just nibble on him a little bit," completes Sango.

Nagisa resolves to check Mako-chan for bite marks at the first opportunity.


	30. Puns

**Puns**

It was inevitable that Nagisa's energetic way of moving would catch up with him. They're descending from the roof when the blond yelps in alarm. Makoto turns and opens his arms in time to catch the younger boy as he falls, flailing frantically.

"Are you alright, Nagisa?" he asks anxiously.

"Fine," says Nagisa. Then he giggles. "I guess that was pretty appropriate, really."

Makoto blinks. "Huh?"

"Because I _fell_ for you," said Nagisa, grinning widely.

Even though it was an absolutely _awful_ pun - he can hear Rei groaning, and he _knows_ that Haru's expression has become noticeably irritated - Makoto blushes.


	31. By Your Side

**By Your Side**

When Gou calls the time, Haru just flips onto his back and floats while everyone else gets out. Nagisa gets towels and joins Makoto at the edge of the pool.

"I think he's a merman," he announces.

"He doesn't have a tail," says Makoto.

"He doesn't need one." Haru proves this by diving beneath the surface, knifing to the bottom.

Nagisa tugs up Makoto's arm and tucks himself into his side.

"Don't you have a train to catch?" asks the older boy.

"There's a later one. I'll catch that."

Makoto hums contentedly, and his arm tightens slightly around Nagisa's waist.


	32. Torn

**Torn**

Haru digs a familiar T-shirt out of the clean laundry pile and hands it over, and Makoto pulls it over his head with a sigh of relief.

"Thanks, Haru," he says.

His best friend just _looks_ at him, wordlessly demanding to know why Makoto had turned up shirtless on his doorstep.

Reluctantly, Makoto digs into his backpack, pulls out the shirt he'd been wearing at the start of his date, and holds it up. Haru's eyebrows rise as he spots the rip that runs from collar to hem. Makoto's face heats. He looks down.

"Nagisa's pretty enthusiastic," he mumbles.


	33. Living Dangerously

Animal!AU.

* * *

**Living Dangerously**

Nagisa's parents always told him to never speak to other species. But they also told him to stay still during the molt, which had been unendurably boring.

Besides, Makoto was the most un-orca-like orca that Nagisa had ever heard of.

"So you can't swim until your new feathers grow in?" asked Makoto, a few days after their first meeting. "How do you eat?"

Nagisa tried not to think about the gnawing pain in his stomach. "I don't."

The next day, Makoto brought him fish. Nagisa was pretty sure that - species difference aside - this was what love felt like.

* * *

Rockhopper penguins molt over a period of about 25 days. During this time they do not swim, and thus cannot eat. They stand in one place for hours in order to conserve energy, but they still lose about 40% of their body fat during this time. The more you know!


	34. Unknown Factors

**Unknown Factors**

Rei concluded long ago that from strictly objectivepoint of view, the relationship that exists between Nagisa-kun and Makoto-sempai simply should not work.

Makoto-sempai is conscientious and nurturing, naturally drawn to those who need some kind of care (his close friendship with Haruka-sempai is a primary example). Nagisa-kun, meanwhile, is uninhibited but resilient, meeting all (numerous) difficulties with energetic independence. He will seek help but he rarely _requires_ it.

Logic does not account for the evident stability of their relationship. Unknown factors are clearly at play.

Rei resolves to observe until he discovers what they are.


	35. Slang

**Slang**

Rin has a habit of using English when he addresses the Iwatobi team - usually, judging by Rei's frown, to insult them.

Today, whatever Rin had called Haru made Rei turn bright red and splutter.

While Haru and Makoto watch the resulting argument, Nagisa leafs through the dictionary he brings when he knows they're going to see Rin.

"Here it is!" he exclaims, five minutes in. "_Mate_, informal, a person's spouse or sexual partner..." He snaps the dictionary shut with a grin. "I knew it!"

Rin covers his face with one hand and mutters something about Australians and their _bloody slang._


	36. Double Act

**Double Act**

The reconciliation with Rin, which culminates in an impromptu pool party, brings out Nagisa's childish side even more than usual.

"Guys, look at me!" He leaps from the edge, arms outstretched like bird's wings - and hits the water in a spectacular bellyflop. Curled into a ball around his stomach, he surfaces slowly, and his expression of stunned pain invites sympathy.

"You're an idiot," says Haru, at exactly the same time that Rin says, "You dumbass."

Finding the unintentional double act hilarious doesn't stop Nagisa from paddling weakly over to Makoto and demanding that his boyfriend kiss his reddened belly better.


	37. Beware the Nice Ones

**Beware the Nice Ones**

"_Enough._"

Makoto usually has a self-effacing manner that usually makes people forget that he's over six feet tall and well-muscled.

Usually.

The two Samezuka team members who decided to give Rei a hard time look like they want to run.

"Mikoshiba-san," says Makoto, as the Samezuka captain comes up behind him, "I think that these two could use a lesson in manners."

As Mikoshiba wordlessly hauls the offenders away, Makoto seems to shrink again - returning to his quiet, non-offensive persona as he checks on Rei.

No one bothers any Iwatobi member for the rest of practice.


	38. Touch

**Touch**

Nagisa always instinctively seeks to get closer, and it's very distracting.

When the contact is minimal, it's harmless enough. If you ruffle his hair, Nagisa will push back against your hand. If you touch his arm, he'll lean into you.

If you have him in your lap and you're tracing the length of his spine, he'll squirm closer like he's trying to share your skin.

It isn't until Makoto drops his head and gasps into the space between Nagisa's neck and shoulder - and feels the laughter vibrating in Nagisa's chest - that he considers that the distractions might have been deliberate.


	39. Come To Me

**Come To Me**

The first time that Nagisa seeks Makoto out, Coach Sasabe roars at him for leaping onto Makoto's back while they're standing on the pool deck. Nagisa looks at his feet and apologizes, but gives Makoto a bright grin as soon as coach's back is turned.

It dispels any lingering thoughts that Nagisa mistook him for someone else.

Makoto can't help but look at Haru, slipping through the water. Makoto really cares about his best friend - but he always has to go to Haru. Haru never comes to him.

Being sought out - instead of the seeker - makes Makoto feel all warm.


	40. Argument

**Argument**

The verbal component of the argument has ended. Now, Nagisa and Haru are staring at one another, waiting for the other to break eye contact.

Makoto wonders if he can sneak away, but he isn't that lucky. Nagisa and Haru turn to him simultaneously.

Makoto screws his eyes shut. They're his friends. He owes them honesty.

"_IthinkNagisaisright,_" he blurts.

Total silence. Then Nagisa leaps up with a whoop.

"I told you!" he declares, pointing at Haru.

Haru just gives Makoto a betrayed look. Makoto's shoulders hunch and he wonders how long it will be before his best friend forgives him.

* * *

They were arguing over the best flavour of ice cream.


	41. Bubble Wrap

**Bubble Wrap**

"...bubble wrap?"

Nagisa, sitting cross-legged on Makoto's bed, just grins. "It will help you relax, Mako-chan."

Hesitantly, Makoto pinches one of the blisters. The little _pop_ makes Nagisa's fingers twitch, but he holds himself back. It's _Mako-chan's_ bubble wrap, after all.

Besides, he cut himself a piece before he wrapped the rest up.

The popping picks up speed as Makoto relaxes - Nagisa can _see_ the tension draining out of his shoulders. By the time Makoto reaches the end of the sheet, he's smiling again, eyes crinkling at the corners.

Nagisa congratulates himself on a job well done.


	42. Disinfectant

**Disinfectant**

Nagisa tries to scoot backwards when he sees the disinfectant.

"We don't know where her claws have been," says Makoto gently. "It will only sting a little bit."

Nagisa looks like he'd rather risk the infection.

Makoto sighs.

The kiss is a bit clumsy, since he has to worry about pressing the cloth over the right place, but Nagisa freezes even though their noses are squashed together.

Makoto pulls back and checks his handiwork. Perfect; he managed to get every scratch.

He puts down the cloth and gives Nagisa another kiss; a proper one this time.

"That's for being good."

* * *

Nagisa should curb the enthusiasm of his petting. Kittens have their limits.


	43. Diet

**Diet**

They should have known something was up when Rei arrived at lunch looking even more serious than usual.

His gaze locked immediately on Nagisa. "Your diet is not appropriate for a swimmer."

Nagisa hunched protectively over his piece of shortcake. "It has eggs! It has strawberries! It's fine, Rei-chan!"

"Not with that amount of sugar in it, it isn't!" Rei lunged, but Nagisa had already leaped away.

"You're not getting my cake!"

"It's for your own good, Nagisa-kun!"

Makoto watched the chase and wondered if he should stop them.

"Don't," says Haru, answering his unspoken thought. "It's funny."


	44. Simpler

**Simpler**

"I don't _get_ it," says Nagisa, chin resting on Makoto's head.

Makoto doesn't have to ask what he means. Despite the reconciliation, there's still tension between Rin and Haru. Makoto would be concerned, except that he figured out the reason a while ago.

"They'll sort it out," he says.

"But the sexual tension is _killing _me," whines Nagisa. "Why haven't they just made out yet?"

Makoto chokes, then blushes. "Not everyone is as direct as you."

Nagisa's arms wind around his neck. "Didn't it make things simpler, though?"

Makoto half-turns so that Nagisa can kiss him. "Yeah, it did."


	45. Impossible

Teaser for another fic idea I've had kicking around since...about episode 3. Rin and Haru are shapeshifting mermen, and despite the tension between them Rin gets called in to help when Haru transforms for the first time.

**Impossible**

Okay, it might have been weird - _impossible_, as Rei kept babbling - but really, Nagisa felt that it explained a lot. Haru and Rin had always been in a class of their own; why shouldn't they turn out to secretly be mermen?

Nagisa had already discovered that Haru's dolphin tail felt like wet velvet. Briefly. If Haru hadn't smacked him away, he would have spent much longer stroking it.

His brief poke of Rin's red-tinged shark tail gets him a bleeding finger.

"That's not fair!" Nagisa protests. "Even your skin bites!"

Rin just grins, showing off those finally explicable teeth.

* * *

Sharks have tiny backwards-pointing teeth on their skin called 'dermal denticles' - so you'd cut yourself if you were to stroke them the wrong way. These dermal denticles help to reduce drag in the water, since completely smooth skin would have random vortices form on it. (You should run a Google image search, because dermal denticles look really cool.)

Dolphin skin has microscopic grooves on it, presumably for the same purpose.


	46. Wait

**Wait**

The morning after Truth or Dare, Haru kicked Makoto and Nagisa out of the house.

"Go talk," he said, and shut the door in their faces.

So they'd wandered down to the park, and when Makoto sat down under a tree, Nagisa wrapped Makoto's arms around him like a jacket. He hummed happily.

"This is nice," he said.

Makoto smiled. "It is."

"I've liked you since we were kids, you know."

"That long?"

"Mmm."

When Makoto leaned down, Nagisa's hair tickled his nose. It smelled like strawberries.

"Thank you for waiting," he said, and pressed a kiss to Nagisa's ear.


	47. Catch

Apologies for the delay in posting this one, internet connection was just not a thing that was happening last night.

**Catch**

Seated on the locker room bench Nagisa tipped his head back and groaned. Goro-chan had been _brutal_ today, making them swim lap after lap and roaring at them to correct the littlest mistakes.

"Nagisa?" Makoto was standing in the doorway. "Aren't you coming?"

"I can't," moaned Nagisa. But he tried anyway, because Makoto had the keys in his hand and had to lock up.

Nagisa managed to take two steps before his wobbly legs collapsed under him. Mako-chan caught him, of course.

"You really are tired," he said, with his gentle chuckle. "Come on, let's get you outside."


	48. Weight Training

Dedicated to Tumblr user **aislashu**, who very kindly offered up this headcanon to me when I was feeling stuck. (If you guys have any headcanons, or just something you'd like to see in this collection, feel free to contact me, and I'll see what I can do.)

**Weight Training**

"_Please,_ Mako-chan?"

Someone with two younger siblings probably should have been better able to resist those pleading eyes, especially on a boy only one year younger and just as physically fit. Nagisa couldn't be _that_ tired.

But Makoto gave in without a fight, kneeling so that Nagisa could climb onto his back.

Haru was giving him a look that said _you indulge him too much, _and Rei was sporting a similarly disapproving expression. Makoto just shrugged the best he could with Nagisa's arms wrapped around his shoulders.

"It's almost weight training," he said.

Nagisa roused enough to smack him.


	49. Comfort

Big thanks to Tumbr user **keropamyupamyu**, who gave me this headcanon.

**Comfort**

When Makoto came in, Nagisa was sitting on his bed with his knees drawn up to his chest, looking almost as angry as upset. When Makoto sat down beside him, Nagisa said nothing.

Makoto set the carton of strawberry ice cream and a spoon in front of him.

"Here," he said. "I thought you could use some cheering up." Nagisa turned to look at him. Makoto smiled and brushed a bit of hair out of Nagisa's face. "You worried me when you left so quickly after school."

Nagisa set the carton down carefully before he tackled Makoto and kissed him.


	50. Guilt

**Guilt**

"Don't you feel bad?"

Nagisa blinked and looked up. "Eh?" He didn't know the girl standing in front of him; well, didn't know her name, at least. She looked vaguely familiar. "Bad about what?"

"Seducing Tachibana-senpai away from Nanase-senpai," clarified the girl. "Don't you feel bad?"

"Huh? What - no - Haru-chan and Mako-chan are just friends!"

Nagisa had always tried really hard not to be jealous of how close his two oldest friends were. But there was always that niggling doubt -

The girl gave him a pitying look.

Nagisa felt sick for the rest of the afternoon.

* * *

Not necessarily connected to the previous chapter, though you could interpret it that way, I guess.


	51. Rude

**Rude:**

It all happened so suddenly - the comment, Nagisa leaping up and throwing his drink in the waitress's face, and then being kicked out of the restaurant - that Makoto didn't really know what to feel.

"Mako-chan?"

Nagisa was peering at him anxiously, braced for anger.

"She was really rude," Makoto allowed.

There was a moment of silence. Then they were leaning against one another for support as they laughed like idiots.

"You realize that they'll never let us back in there?" said Makoto, wiping tears from his eyes.

Nagisa just grabbed Makoto's hand.

"Who cares? Let's go get ice cream."


	52. Movie Night

**Movie Night**

"Mako-chan?"

The lump under the blankets didn't move.

"I turned off the movie. You can come out now."

Makoto shook his head violently.

"I don't think a blanket would stop a serial killer, Mako-chan."

There was a squeak of pure terror from beneath the blanket, but nothing else.

Nagisa sighed. Finding an edge, he tugged it up and leaped, landing squarely on his boyfriend and knocking the wind out of them both.

"If you won't come out," panted Nagisa. "I'll just have to come in."

Judging by the way that Makoto pulled him close, that was perfectly fine.


	53. Storm

**Storm**

Makoto is already awake when Nagisa thrashes out of his bed at the sound of the thunder, and he doesn't even pretend he was sleeping when Nagisa crawls over to his futon and puts a shaking hand on his shoulder. In the lightning flashes, Nagisa's eyes are overbright.

As Makoto tugs the blankets aside so that Nagisa can burrow eagerly in beside him, he wonders if this is the first storm-triggered nightmare Nagisa has had.

Probably not, and Makoto is horribly, guiltily glad. At least he isn't alone.

Trembling in the dark, they wait for the storm to end.


	54. Patience

**Patience**

Nagisa has been patient. He's learned the hard way that their friends counted as 'public', and any attempt to show Mako-chan affection would result in blushing avoidance. But if he waited until they were alone...

So he waited. Except Haru-chan is ruining his plans, because he's _also_ waiting while Mako-chan locks up after practice.

Nagisa folds his arms. Haru-chan looks at him, briefly, then leaves - as though he meant to all along.

And even if Nagisa isn't sure whether that was a smile or a smirk, he resolves to do something nice for Haru-chan soon.


	55. Crime

Apologies for the delay, guys. Four of my fandoms had new things and I was comprehensively distracted. Won't happen again, I hope - or at least, I'll warn you before I disappear next time.

**Crime**

The police officer's cap is lopsided on Nagisa's head, but frankly Makoto had been expecting something like this when Nagisa had turned up with that bag from the costume store.

"You're under arrest for being too cute," declares Nagisa. He'd found a pair of plastic handcuffs as well as the cap. "Now put your hands where I can hold them."

Makoto meekly extends his hand. Nagisa snaps one ring of the handcuffs around each of their wrists and grins. "Gotcha," he says, somewhere between sunny and smug.

It's probably a crime to kiss your arresting officer. Makoto does it anyway.


End file.
